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Athens pharmacies to stop credit as of Monday

Pharmacists in the greater Athens area have warned that they will stop providing customers insured with state health care provider EOPYY with medical supplies and equipment on credit as of Monday unless the organization settles at least part of its mounting debt.

It is understood that EOPYY had settled its debts up until January with fewer than half of the 3,100 pharmacies in the Greek capital by the end of last week. In a controversial move, EOPYY on Friday went on to pay some of the pharmacies up until February at a time when many of their competitors have not received any money this year.

“Some pharmacies in Athens have been paid until January, others have been paid until February, others have only been paid for February, and others have not been paid at all,” the president of Attica’s pharmacists, Constantinos Lourantos, told Kathimerini.

“On August 1 we shall stop providing supplies on credit,” he warned, adding that the association would formally announce its decision on Monday.

On top of pharmacists in Athens and Piraeus, businesses in Pella and Kilkis, in northern Greece, are also expected to follow suit.